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Saturday, December 03, 2011

Breakfast #52: Christmas Oatmeal

It’s December! For
many of you, that means that Christmas is in the air. In the Philippines however, Christmas season
officially start when the months end in “-ber”.
That means, for us, Christmas starts in September, when the shopping
malls and their ilk let the first decorations out and the first strains of
carols can be heard over their PA systems.
By December, the season is in full-throttle, steam-rollering its way
over us, both guns blazing.

Before you throw eggnog and Scrooge McDuck at me, hear me
out. In truth, I DO like Christmas! It’s the hyper-consumerist roller-coaster ride
it has become over here that I am not too fond of. And all the over-bright wrapping and trappings
that, more often now, overshadow everything else. Plus the growing number of people that seem
to be more stressed then celebratory. Is
something stressing you about Christmas?
Take a good and honest look at what that thing is and perhaps (I’ll bet)
you can skip it this year. Or at least
part of it. Really. Do what you want! It’s Christmas! ;)

December is, in actuality, my absolute most stressful month at
work with year-end reports, transitions, and trying to keep business going while
everyone else is rushing off to holidays.
Scurrying to buy Christmas presents?
Choosing between holiday parties?
Cooking up a storm? Christmas
cocktail hangovers? Oh, how I would much
rather be doing all that! Christmas is
my respite, my reward.

It is also the season when you can buy freshly roasted
castañas (chestnuts)…so it can’t be all that bad ;)

Christmas Oatmeal

1 cup milk

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup steel cut oats

1 apple, chopped into small dice

1/2 cup peeled roasted castañas/chestnuts, roughly
chopped

3 tablespoons raisins

A couple of dashes cinnamon

A pinch of nutmeg

A pinch of ground cloves

- Heat the milk and water in a pan until tiny bubble
appear on the side and the milk is hot but does not come to a boil. Add the oats and stir. Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring
occasionally.

- After 10-15 minutes add the apple, castañas/chestnuts,
raisins, and spices. Stir and
cover. Cook for another 10-15 minutes,
stirring occasionally, until oatmeal is to your preferred consistency. Add more water if it becomes to dry.

- Serve warm.

One of the things I love about this time of year is when
the castañas vendors come out, stirring their huge vats of nuts. A warm, freshly roasted chestnut is true
bliss – and, at this time of year, bliss that is easily had. I’ve infused this oatmeal with what I think
of as Christmas flavors***. This is
perfect to have on a cool December morning, although the weather does not seem
to be cooperating these days.

Christmas does not have to mean a trillion lights and
over-organized parties, and spending until your wallet whines (unless, of
course, you want to…that’s fine too). It
can be about your own traditions, your own ways of celebrating, with the people
you want to celebrate. It can be the
time of year when you give everyone an extra hug, or tip the waiters more than usual, or enforce pajama weekends and air
guitar competitions, or just add a little spice in your morning oatmeal. It’s really up to you. Just do it with joy in your heart and
everyone around you will be better for being in the presence of a joyful
person. Happy December everyone!

***I've used some of the same Christmas flavors, like the
castañas and the apples, in my column in the December issue of Yummy magazine
which is out in newsstands now. If you are hereabouts, you can pick up a copy!

The oatmeal sounds delicious, but here in the Deep South, I'll have to substitute pecans for chestnuts!Your comments on the commercialization of Christmas really resonated with me -- my husband and I are going through a rough financial patch, and decided no "boughten" gifts except to my grandson and youngest daughter. EVERYONE in our extended family heaved a sigh of relief, and followed suit -- guess it just someone to speak up to stop the madness!

Hi Susan! Pecans!! I can only get those imported and they are one of the most expensive nuts to buy over here! I so can relate on the gifts front and I am sure a lot can as well – I love gifts as much as the next person but they can get quite out of hand sometimes!

Great Christmas version of your daily porridge (well, once-weekly, in our case). Not so sure about chestnuts - they're hard to come by here and therefore I don't associate them with Christmas, but the apple and the spices for sure!!